Minneapolis, MN
Minnesotans gather to mourn and honor Oklahoma nonbinary teen Nex Benedict
Outside the Minneapolis Teacher’s Federation, on a chilly Friday evening, gatherers held candles to mourn, celebrate and honor the life of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student who died after a fight at Owasso High School in Oklahoma.
Benedict identified as nonbinary, a term used by people who identify with a gender that is not male or female, a person whose gender identity is more expansive.
Student organizers from the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) at Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis organized the vigil in honor of Nex.
“Everybody in GSA thought if we act now, it might create a big enough impact to at least show some respect for Nex,” said Kam, a GSA high school student organizer.
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Attendees gather prior to the start of a candlelight vigil hosted by the Thomas Edison High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance.
Liam James Doyle for MPR News
Throughout the evening, speakers called for political action in Minnesota and across the country to honor Nex Benedict’s life and to protect the safety of transgender youth.
“This is holy ground tonight because we gather to remember Nex Benedict,” said Rev. Justin Sabia-Tanis, associate professor at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. “It is holy because we gather here to remember Nex Benedict. It is holy because you and I are here, and we are sacred, holy people.”
Sabia-Tanis spoke out against anti-transgender policymaking, including bills passed in several states that restrict transgender people from using the bathrooms that fit their gender.
“Those who make anti-trans laws and encourage their passage are complicit in each act of violence that occur because of what they say and because of the laws that they pass,” Sabia-Tanis said.
S.J. Amado and their child Zochi Nelsen-Amado snuggle together during a candlelight vigil hosted by the Thomas Edison High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance.
Liam James Doyle for MPR News
Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, is the chair of the Queer Legislative Caucus. She said in the days since the news broke, she finds herself “unable to stop apologizing to Nex.”
“I am sorry you will not find your way in this world,” said Finke, “I’m sorry you will not experience the radical joy of queer adulthood. I am sorry you will not live the fullest realities of a whole human life.”
Several of the evening’s speakers addressed Nex Benedict’s death as a part of the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Benedict’s mother was a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Nation, added to the calls for accountability on the part of policymakers, including Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma. In 2022, Stitt signed a bill requiring public school students to use bathrooms according to the gender listed on their birth certificates.
Rev. Mary Visas of the Federation of Christian Ministries during a candlelight vigil hosted by the Thomas Edison High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance.
Liam James Doyle for MPR News
“This did not happen on accident. Policies have consequences,” said Flanagan.
Flanagan observed that she and Stitt, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, are the only two Native Americans to hold executive offices in state government across the country.
“As an Anishinaabekwe, I cannot say that it is all right with our Indigenous values that our children are bullied and made to suffer and are hurting,” said Flanagan.
“It is not who we are. That is not where we come from, and we will continue to do everything in the state of Minnesota, but that is not enough,” said Flanagan.
GSA student organizers say they need bathroom solutions
Student organizers with Gender and Sexual Alliance organizers were accompanied at the vigil by their teacher Amelia Marquez.
Marquez recalled moving from Montana to seek greater safety in Minnesota as a transgender person and called on allies of transgender youth in helping to create safe spaces in schools.
Jane Robertson of Lino Lakes holds a transgender pride flag during a candlelight vigil hosted by the Thomas Edison High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance.
Liam James Doyle for MPR News
“These kids should not be afraid to go to the bathroom to go to in our schools here in Minneapolis and St. Paul,” said Marquez.
GSA student organizer Keeda Johnson said students need “bathroom solutions.” “We need a community who is going to stick up for our LGBTQ+ rights,” said Johnson.
“The genderqueer students have to stand and sit and sometimes even to go the nurse like we are sick because we have to go to the bathroom,” said Johnson. “It’s humiliating to have to go to the nurse and say ‘we have to pee’ because there is not a bathroom that fits our gender identity. It hurts, it makes me at least feel like something is wrong.”
Johnson encouraged youth to seek out resources which affirm their gender identity.
A sign is displayed during a candlelight vigil hosted by the Thomas Edison High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance.
Liam James Doyle for MPR News
Minneapolis, MN
Bicycle baby delivery: MN lawmaker rides e-bike sidecar to motherhood
Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby. (Supplied)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis lawmaker is a new mother this week after taking an unusual ride to deliver the baby.
Minneapolis bicycle baby delivery
Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby. (Supplied)
Big picture view:
Representative Katie Jones is a Minneapolis Democrat, and she usually takes the light rail or a bicycle to the Minnesota State Capitol because she doesn’t own a car.
So when it was time to give birth, she and her husband loaded themselves into a friend’s cargo e-bike, with Jones riding in the sidecar.
They had also packed an infant car seat, so after their son, Hans, was born, they packed him into the bike as well for the ride home.
Jones thanked the city of Minneapolis for having protected bike lanes that she says made the two-mile ride feel safe.
Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby. (Supplied)
The Source: This story uses information gathered by FOX 9 reporter Corin Hoggard.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis mosque recognizes ICE observers for helping its community
On Friday, Laura Kubick once again came to the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. She’s not Muslim, but coming to the mosque on Fridays had become routine, one that earned the gratitude of Imam Sharif Mohamed.
“What we wanted to do was create a sense of safety and take care of our neighbors,” Kubick said.
Kubick said that each week, during Friday prayer, she and a friend would keep watch outside the mosque. She’d become one of tens of thousands of people operating as observers, aiming to document U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and provide a warning to neighbors when agents showed up.
It’s why Mohamed and other community leaders organized Friday’s Iftar around observers, aiming to provide food and thanks to people who were total strangers before Operation Metro Surge began. Mohamed said he met people who were helping deliver meals to people too afraid to leave their homes, helping get children to school and helping to keep the neighborhood safe.
“The magnitude of the people who said ‘no, this is not happening on our own watch and in our neighborhood’ was beyond the expectation,” Mohamed said.
The mosque was packed on Friday with people of all faiths, eagerly awaiting the meal that would break the daily fast observed during Ramadan. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobsen were in attendance and gave remarks.
“I think everybody did all they could and Minneapolis as a whole showed up in a beautiful way,” Frey said.
Kubick said she now lives in St. Paul; until this year, she said she hadn’t had much reason to visit Cedar-Riverside since her time in college. When she signed up to help with the Immigrant Defense Network, she noticed that no one had signed up to cover the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. She said she was happy to be there for them.
“We showed the love for our community and we showed community solidarity,” Kubick said.
While the overwhelming majority of Somalis living in Minnesota are U.S. citizens, they reported that ICE targeted them heavily at the beginning of the federal surge into the Twin Cities metro. President Trump first put a spotlight on Somalis in November, blaming the community for individual fraud charges.
Mohamed said that there are still community members afraid to go about their daily lives. A teacher and observer who spoke Friday evening said students are suffering from learning loss. In some neighborhoods, there are outstanding concerns related to paying rent following the surge.
Jacobsen said from his standpoint with the state, the observer network represented resilience. He said that from his understanding in recent conversations with federal officials, the bulk of agents now in the state are focused on fraud. He said that he has not been informed what those investigations will actually look like.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis OnlyFans users spent $14.3M, more than any other Midwest city in 2025
The OnlyFans logo is displayed on a mobile phone with the company branding icon visible in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on November 24, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis OnlyFans subscribers have helped the city secure a top spot for content consumption on the site, ranking it in fifth place in the entire country for per-capita spending.
The city’s per-capita spending intensity is a whopping 4.4x higher than the national average.
READ MORE: Minneapolis PD officer outed as OnlyFans model after pulling over subscriber
Minneapolis among top 5 OnlyFans spenders per capita in the country
By the numbers:
Minneapolis residents spent a combined total of $14.3 million in 2025, or $337,248 per 10,000 residents, earning the city a spot in 5th place nationally.
According to the data, Minneapolis residents spent about $39,000 a day on OnlyFans, more than any other city in the Midwest.
St. Paul, meanwhile, saw its residents spend about $6.5 million in 2025, or about $209,589 per 10,000 residents, ranking in 17th place nationally.
All of Minnesota spent a total of $47.9 million, ranking it 17th out of all 50 states.
Minneapolis content creators’ contributions
The Bold North:
According to the data, Minneapolis is just consuming OnlyFans content, it’s also producing its own.
The city is also home to 4,705 creators, who earned more than $6.1 million in revenue, contributing about $1.4 million in combined federal and state taxes.
Dig deeper:
More data can be found here.
The Source: This story uses information gathered by OnlyGuider.
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